The plate loader, which is capable of traveling to the front, back, right, and left, sucks the plate parts that are cut out from the plate by the plate processor such as the punch press and the laser processor, etc. and carries the plate parts out from the plate processor. The plate parts that are cut out from the plate processor differ in shape and size, so that it is preferable to specify the sucking position that is a stop position to the horizontal direction when sucking the suction member correctly, with respect to each plate part. When the sucking position is not specified correctly, there are possibilities that the plate loader cannot suck the plate parts and the plate parts are dropped from the plate loader even if the plate loader can suck the plate parts.
Thus, the information for specifying the sucking position is added to the carrying program that controls the plate loader with coordinate value, with respect to each plate part.
However, it takes a lot of trouble to create the above carrying program as the sucking position of the plate loader differs according to the plate part, so that people try to create the carrying program including the specified value of the sucking position when the automatic programming device creates the process program for the plate processor. The created carrying program is transferred to the plate loader control unit, using a portable recording medium such as a floppy disk and a magnetic optical disk.
It takes much time and trouble to copy the carrying program and transfer it with the portable recording medium. Therefore, people try to create the system that the automatic programming device creates the carrying program including the instruction of the sucking position, as well as the process program, and the plate loader can suck the plate parts to be processed. However, the system is unrealized.
Moreover, it is difficult to change the specified value of the sucking position on the spot in automatic operation, in the conventional plate parts carrying system, if the specified value of the sucking position of any plate parts is inappropriate in the carrying program. Furthermore, it is repeated that the inappropriate specified value is given again to the plate parts that need to change the specified value of the sucking position when creating the other carrying program.
Additionally, it is highly likely that the similar suction failure is occurred to the same plate parts, as a plurality of the same parts that are in same shape and size may be included in the plate parts that are cut out from the plate, even if changing the specified value of only the plate parts that actually occur the suction failure.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a plate parts carrying system that the plate loader can suck the plate parts to be processed automatically without taking much trouble to supply a carrying program from an automatic programming device to a plate loader control unit.
Another object of the present invention is that a specified value of the sucking position can be changed on the spot in automatic mode and the sucking position can be surely and quickly changed in automatic control, if the specified value of the sucking position of any plate parts is inappropriate in the carrying program.
It is still another object of the present invention that, if the specified value of the sucking position of the plate parts is changed on the spot, the change of the specified value of the sucking position is reflected in the same kind of the plate parts when creating the next program, and the appropriate carrying program can be easily created.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a plate loader control unit, which is capable of changing the specified value of the sucking position or the same parts automatically, preventing the suction failure of the same parts in advance, and cutting the changing operation by man power, if the specified value of the sucking position of any plate parts is changed as the value is inappropriate. It is a still further object of the present invention that the specified value of the sucking position can be changed to the original value immediately even if the changed specified value of the sucking position is wrong and the specified value can be easily changed again. An additional object of the present invention is to search the same parts easily and to check the parts by workers easily.